Meet Randy Altschuler, another member of that rag-tag team of McCain bundlers just trying to scrape by while making things just a bit better for those seeking gainful employment in these United States.

CSCS has learned that Altschuler, the co-founder of Office Tiger (an independent business unit of RR Donnelley), has pioneered new ways to send U.S. jobs abroad, while pocketing a pretty penny in the process. According to Global Technology Forum:

Besides the entrepreneurial capabilities of Mr Sigelman and fellow founder Randolph Altschuler, OfficeTiger’s roaring growth has been due in part to its decision to be different. While most BPO companies thrive on call centres or back-office work of secondary importance, OfficeTiger has targeted the high-end segment, offering knowledge-based outsourcing that is industry-focused, “judgment-based” and supports core functions of a client’s business. These are mission-critical services, requiring OfficeTiger professionals to apply their judgment–such as preparing a key presentation for a US chief financial officer within an hour, providing audit support for a global accounting firm or undertaking financial research and analysis for bankers.

Initially, it was not easy for OfficeTiger to sell the idea to US companies that they should outsource office functions considered critical. While companies were used to the outsourcing of information technology (IT) support services, routine clerical work, and well-defined functions like customer support through call centres, core office functions were always handled in-house.

However, over time, OfficeTiger was able to convince more and more companies about the benefits of outsourcing these functions. OfficeTiger continues to focus on judgment-based outsourcing services such as print and publishing solutions (from concept through design and composition to pre-press services and release-to-print), research and data analytics (such as business information services, financial analytics and strategic market research) and financial management services. That OfficeTiger offers “real-time” solutions is evident in that about one-third of its assignments are delivered in less than an hour.

So where does your job go once Mr. Altschuler convinces your employer of the need to send it abroad?

OfficeTiger is an unusual animal in the virtual zoo of India’s business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. Set up barely six years ago by two young Americans after friends and ex-colleagues chipped in for seed capital, New York-headquartered OfficeTiger has emerged as a major player in BPO services, with two large operations in Chennai in southern India, and smaller outlets in Colombo and Manila. The company employs 4,000 people worldwide, and its clients include Fortune 500 companies, investment banks, global consulting and accountancy firms, global law firms and retail chains, among others. Co-founder Joseph Sigelman forecasts that his company’s revenue will be about US$135m in 2006.

So we have a man raising large "bundled" sums of money for John McCain–a candidate who argues he’ll improve our economy, even though he doesn’t really know too much about the subject – whose job is to profit from convincing clients to create more unemployment in the United States by shipping jobs abroad. Remember, this is just one of McCain’s 507 bundlers. Who knows what we’ll find when we take a cursory glance into the business and personal dealings of the other 506?

Sorry to go OT so early in a thread, but this needs a lot of coverage:

At least 12 U.S. troops have been electrocuted in Iraq since the start of the war in 2003, according to military and government officials.

That’s right, there are now 12 documented cases of our troops being electrocuted by KBR and other no-bid contractors. But wait, there’s more:

Army documents obtained by CNN show that U.S.-paid contractor Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) inspected the building and found serious electrical problems a full 11 months before Maseth was electrocuted.

KBR noted “several safety issues concerning the improper grounding of electrical devices.” But KBR’s contract did not cover “fixing potential hazards.” It covered repairing items only after they broke down.

Absolutely no shame. Are there any ties to McCain for KBR or is it all Cheney?

Thans for the post. But there was a reason OfficeTigerScabs was founded by investment bankers. Americans do not deserve American jobs. We can blame under employed Poets and Actors. Outsourcing of these slackards is necessary because moonlighting Poets and Actors did not treat Altshuter and Sigelman with the respect Investment Bankers should be given.

Both of them were working on their presentations for the next morning at the in-house typing pool. At night, the typing pool would be filled with actors and poets who were moonlighting to make ends meet.

“It was three in the morning, and there was this guy who had an audition the next day and was tired and ready to go home because he had a play earlier in the morning. He gave me back my work, but he had accidentally put his script inside my presentation. I was banging my head in exasperation. I called my buddy Randy to share my misery with him. And, he also had exactly the same experience in New York! It was a strange coincidence,” Joe recounted.

That made them think. “There has to be a better way of doing things.”

As Joe had been to India before as a child, the image of India came to his mind immediately, and he asked Randy, “What if we can do this work in India?”

There was an extended article about this character and Office Tiger in the New Yorker a few years back. A link to the New Yorker abstract of the article is here - the whole article does not appear to be on line, but is available on the CD-ROMs of back issues which the New Yorker put out, if anyone has access to them.

This guy pretty much singlehandedly destroyed the livelihoods of all those aspiring actors, writers, artists and such who used to trek to NYC and work doing the proofreading and document review for the banking and investment houses during the nights and then try to make a go at their real jobs when not paying the bills doing that grunt work. As a result, he’s done almost as much to facilitate the Disneyfication and class-stratification of New York as did Giuliani and his cronies – only rich people can live and work there, and there are no jobs for smart people trying to make it outside corporate ‘murca.

Totally understood re Welch. I am a bit suspicious of that title too. But he is a great guy, even if I think his politics are a bit misguided (they are not dangerous at least). And what he says on McCain is right on, I quoted much of it in The Real McCain.

Thanks for the link to the search engine for bundlers, Cliff. With the number of current McCain bundlers and the time till the election, we need to examine about five a day. I’ll bet there are more really interesting ones in there. A full 70 of the 507 bundlers are lobbyists.

I’m slow at these things. So writing the ID number on the checks would allow the successful candidate to reward the bundler commensurately later, and some of the ensuing benefits (such as contracts) would get passed down to the bundler’s contributors. Is that anywhere near right?

Cliff. What do you know about Steven Begun? He was on Washington Journal this morning spouting McCain nuclear policy re: Russia, etc., and is McCain’s advisor on those policies. A caller asked him what his background was, and he said that he worked as National Security advisor to Frist and others in the Senate at different times. He works for Ford Motors, while advising McCain. I think he might be a another McCain lobbyist/advisor.

“Biegun also has strong corporate ties – after leaving Frist’s office, he joined up with the Ford Motor Company to serve as a corporate officer and vice president of International Governmental Affairs. This was a particularly interesting hire for Ford, given their tremendous interests in Russia (the Ford manufactured “Focus” hatchback was the highest selling foreign car in the Russian market in 2007). Although the corporation is slashing jobs in the United States, this week they announced that production in Russia will increase by as much as 75%, and 1,500 jobs will be added to their St. Petersburg plant. Russia is by far the most attractive automotive market for the next decade as exemplified by the mega-deal between Renault and Avtovaz.

Biegun’s connection to Ford could potentially raise interesting Corporate Foreign Policy issues with the U.S.-Russia relationship if McCain wins the election. For example, in his role as Co-Chair for the Coalition for US-Russia, he’s in charge of organizing “a broad-based group of U.S. interests who strongly support Russia’s entry into the WTO as a member in good standing.” This group is lobbying Congress for the repeal of Jackson-Vanick and the establishment of Permanent Normal Trade Relations for Russia.”